Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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The present invention relates to an alignment fixture
for aligning and positioning the axis of rotation o~ a rotatable
member such as a honing mandrel or other work engaging member.
The present invention is particularly useful for
aligning and positioning rotatable members including rotatable
work engaging members such as honing mandrels which are mounted
in adjustable spindle noses such as disclosed in Rutter's U.S.
patent no. 4,281,4~2 dated August 4, 1981, assigned to the same
~ assignee. The subject fixture is especially useful to enable
; 10 accurate adjustment of the spindle nose for aligning and posi-
tioning the axis of rotation of a member mounted therein.
One of the problems of using a rotating member to
machine or otherwise work on surfaces such as cylindrical sur-
faces is the inability to be able to manufacture parts so accur-
ately that even slight variations in rotation of a rotatable
member about a fixed axis can be eliminated. Even slight manu-
facturing tolerances as well as wear and strain on the parts
; caused by rough handling or otherwise will produce error, and
this will usually be manifested as misalignment or off axis
movement of the rotatable parts during operation thereof.
Rutter's U.S. patent no. 4,281,482 dated August 4, 1981 dis-
closes the construction of a rotatable machine mounting assem-
bly or spindle nose that is adjustable to axially align and
laterally position a rotatable work engaging member supported
thereby. The present alignment fixture is designed to be used
with such a spindle nose when aligning and positioning the axis
of rotation of a rotatable member. To this end the subject fix-
ture is mounted
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on the machine tool such as on a honing machine adjacent to the
work engaging rotatable member to be a:Ligned or to a sleeve mounted
thereon for engagement therewith. When so positioned the spindle nose
is adjusted using the presen-t fixture when engaged with the rotatable
member in several different positions thereof to obtain precise
axial alignment and positioning of the work engaging memher.
In this way extremel~ accurate rotational alignment can be obtained
so as to overcome even sligh-t manu~acturing errors or tolerances in
the machine parts, and defects, howe~er slight, in the rotatable
member and in the mounting means therefor and to compensate for wear.
Furthermore, with the present alignment fixture, each time a di~ferent
mandrel is mounted on the machine it can be quickly and accurately
aligned and positioned, and the present fixture can be used to align
and position rotatable members of different lengths.
I~ is therefore a principal object of the present
invention to increase the accuracy of machine tools such as honing
machines that employ rotatable work engaging members.
Another object is to provide a relatively simple, easy
to install and operate fixture that can be used in the accurate
alignment and positioning of -the axis of rotation of a rotatable
member.
Another object is to provide an alignment fixture that
is adjustable to engage rotatable members at axially spaced
locations therealong for alignment purposes, the axi-al spacing
between the engaged locations being adjustable depending on the
- length of the rota-table member to be aligned.
Another object is to overcome even slight misalignment
errors in rotatable members due to manufacturing limitations,
wear of parts, and imperfections caused by rough handling.
Another object is to provide relatively simple means
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to install an alignment ~ixture in operative position on a
machine tool.
Another object is to provide means to predeterminate-
ly secure an alignment fixture in position on a machine tool
adjacent to a rotatable member to be aligned and yet provide
some adjustment in the position thereof and of the parts there-
on that contact the member to be aligned.
Another object is to enable accurate axial alignment
of members mounted ~or rotation in adjustable mounting assem-
blies.
Another object is to provide means to locate the axis
of rotation of a rotatable member so that the member will ro-
tate with minimum wobble about its true axis.
Another object is to establish the axis of rotation
of a rotatable member taking into account wear of the parts
thereof.
In one aspect of the present invention, there is
provided an alignment fixture for use in aligning the rotat-
ional axis of a rotatable member mounted on a device, the de-
vice having a shaft in spaced relation to the rotatable member
comprising a housing structure having first and second end por-
tions, means on one end portion for mounting the housing struc-
ture on the shaft, means adjacent to the second end portion
for engaging a rotatable member to be aligned, said engaging
means including a pair of spaced contacts for engaging the
rotatable member at axially spaced locations therealong, one
of the said pair of spaced contacts including means threadedly
engageable with the housing structure, the other of said con-
tacts including means pivotally mounting the other contact on
the housing structure, scale means on the housing structure
and a movable indicator having a first portion movable adja-
cent to the scale means to provide a scale reading and a se-
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cond portion operatively connected to the other contact, and
~ means to lock the housing in fixed posltion on the ,shaft.
~ In a further aspect of the present invention, there
is provided a fixture for aligning and locating a rotatable
: member so that the axis of rotation of the member will remain
coincident with the true axis of the member, means for sup-
porting the rotatable member during rotation thereof including
a mounting assembly having means adjustable to align the ro-
tatable member axially and other means for locating the center
10 of rotation of said member, comprising a housing structure
having opposite end portions, means adjacent one end portion
of the housing structure for mounting the housing structure
for movement of the opposite end portion thereof relative to
the rotatable member to be aligned and located, means adjacent
to said opposite end portion of the housing structure for en-
gaging the rotatable member to be aligned and located, said
engaging means including a first contact member and means on
the housing pivotally mounting said first contact member for
movement thereon relative to the housing structure and the mem-
20 ber to be aligned and located, scale means on the housing and -
a movable indicator operatively connected to the movable first
contact member whereby the position of the movable contact
member indicates on the scale the relative position of the
movable contact on the housing, means to lock the housing in
fixed position with the movable first contact member engaging
the rotatable member, a second contact member on the housing
structure spaced from the first contact me~ber in position
for engaging the rotatable member at a spaced axial location
therealong, and means for adjusting the position of the second
30 contact member on the housing whereby the rotatable mem~er is
aligned and located when both of the contacts are in engagement
therewith. :
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In a ~urther aspect of the present invention, there
is provided a fixture for aligning and locating the end-to-end
axis of rotation of a member mounted for rotation in a rotat-
able support structure having means thereon for rotatably
supporting the member including for adjusting the position of
the axis of rotation of the member to be aligned therein com-
prising a housing having spaced portions, means adjacent to :
one of said spaced housing portions for mounting the housi.ng
for pivotal movement of the housing portions relative to the
member to be aligned, a first contact assembly mounted adja-
cent to said other housing portion including a first contact
thereon for movement into engagement with the member whose
axis of rotation is to be aligned, means on the housing for
biasing the first contact outwardly on the housing into a
normally extended position thereon, a second contact assembly
having a second contact thereon mounted on the other housing
portion, said second contact assembly being positionally ad-
justable on the other housing portion in position for engaging
the member to be aligned at a location axially spaced there- ~ -
along from the first contact, indicator means on the housing -
including a scale and a pointer movable relative to the scale,
and means operatively connecting the pointer to the first con-
tact for movement relative to the scale in response to the
extended position of the first contact assembly on the other
housing portion, the relative position of the first and second
contacts when engaged with the member to be aligned being used
to es~ablish the end-to-end alignment and location of the
axis of rotation of the member.
In the drawings which illustrate embodiments of the
invention:
FIGURE 1 is a top plan view showing the subject fix-
ture mounted on a honing machine in operative engagement with
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a honing mandrel mounted in an adjustable spindle nose assem-
bly;
FIGURE 2 is an end view, partly in section, taken on
line 2-2 of FIGURE l;
FIGURE 3 is a side view of the subject fixture taken
on line 3-3 of FIGURE l;
FIGURE 4 is an enlarged, cross-sectional view taken
on line 4-4 of FIGURE 1,
FIGURE 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary, cross-section-
al view taken on line 5-5 of FIGURE l;
FIGURE 6 is a bottom view of the subject fixture
taken on line 6-6 of FIGURE 3 with the bot-tom wall removed;
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FIGURE 7 is an enlarged, fragmentary, cross-sectional
view taken on line 7-7 of FIGURE l;
FIGURE 8 is a side view of the adjustable work en-
gaging contact assembly employed in the present device; and
FIGURE 9 is an end view similar to FIGURE 2 of the
subject fixture but with the mounting for the adjustable work
engaging contact shown in an extended position to increase the
distance between the work engaging members.
Referring to the drawings more particularly by refer-
ence numbers, numbèr 20 refers to a fixture constructed accord-
ing to the present invention. The fixture 20 is shown in
FIGURE 1 mounted on a shaft 22 which is maintained in fixed po-
sition. The fixture 20 has two spaced work engaging contacts 24
and 26 (FIGURE 2) which engage axial spaced locations along the
outer surface of a sleeve-like member, such as sleeve 31, which
is positioned on the work engaging portion 28 of a rotatable
member to be aligned, such as honing mandrel 30. The sleeve
31 is selected to have an inner surface diameter of the sarne
size as the finished hole to be honed and an outer surface
that is concentric with the inner surface for reasons which
will become apparent hereinafter. The mandrel 30 is supported
by an adapter assembly 32 which may be similar to the adapters
shown in U.S. patent no. 2,376,851, dated May 22, 1945 and
U.S. patent no. 4,249,348 dated February 10, 1981 and the
adapter 32 is mounted in a bore 34 in a rotatable spindle nose
assembly 36. The spindle nose assembly 36 is adjustable to
align and locate the axis of rotation of the mandrel 30 by
means disclosed in Rutter's U~S. patent no. 4,281,482 dated
August 4, 1981
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is assigned to ~pplicant's assignee. The present ~ixture 20
is used in conjunction with the spindle nose assembly 36 to
align the mandrel 30 so that the axis of rotation thereo~
will remain coincident with the true axis of the mandrel~
thereby eliminating or minimizing wobble, and to position
the mandrel in relation to the spindle to eliminate or
minimize eccentricity. Two steps are re~uired in the use of
the fixture 20: the first involves use of two spaced contacts
to align the mandrel so that it will rotate about the true
axis of the mandrel and honing stone, and the second step
involves use of only one of the contacts to laterally locate
the mandrel so that any eccentricity of movement of the mandrel
and honing stone during a honing operation will be minimized.
To understand the structure o~ the present device
an explanation as to how it is used will ~e helpful~ Referring
again to FIGURES 1 and 2, the present de~ice is shown mounted on
the fixed shaft 22 which is in spaced paralleI relation to the
mandrel 30 to be aligned. When so mounted the fixture 20 can be
rotated about the shaft 22 to bring the sleeve engaging
contacts 24 and 26 into engagement with tha sleeve 3I. The
fixture 20 must not be locked in position when estahlishing
angular alignmant of the axis of rotation of the mandrel but is
locked in position by means of a locking le~er 40 when
establishing the lateral position of the mandrel. The locking
lever 40 extends through an elongated opening 42 in the fixture
housing 44. The housing 44 has an outwardly extending split
mounting portion 46 ~FIGURE 4) that has a bore 48 through
which the shaft 22 extends. The locking laver 40 is
attached to a collar 50 which is mounted on a threaded member
52 that extends through a hole 54 in portion 56 o~ the mounting
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portion 46 and cooperates with a threaded ~ore 58 in split portion
60 (FIGURE 4). When the lever 40 is mo~ed in one direction the
threaded memher 52 brings the portions 56 and 60 together
into fixed or locked position of the fixture 20 on the shaft 22.
In the opposite position of the loGking lever 40 the fixture is
freely rotatable on the shaft 22.
The shaft 22 has an annular fixture locating groo~e
62 formed therein at an intermedia-te location, and the split
portion 60 has a spring member 64 (FIGURES 4 and 6) attached
thereto. The member 64 has a plunger portion,66 that extends
through an opening 68 in the portion 60 and into the bore 48.
The plunger 66 cooperates with the groo~e 62 in the shaft 22
when the fixture 20 is positioned thereon to locate the
fixture and pre~ent it from moving axially therealong. The
location of the groove 62 is selected to position the work
engaging members or contacts 24 and 26 so that they will
engage the sleeve 31 mounted upon the mandrel 30 surrounding
the honing portion 28 at axial spaced locations therealong.
The mounting portion 46 extends into the housing 44
near one end thereof and has a portion 70 that is rotatably
connected to opposite side walls of the housing 44 by pivot
members 72 (,FIGURES 4 and 61 and 74 (FIGURE 3) which extend throu~h
respective aligned housing bores 76 and 78. The inner sur~ace
of the porti~n 70 is attached to one end of an elongated arm
'80 which'extends along the inside of the housing 44 for
attachment adjacent at its opposite end to a tubular me~ er
'82 which has a threaded bore 84 therethrough. The bore'84
cooperates with a threaded member'86 that is journaled
for rotation in the upper wall of the housing 44. ~ coil spring
85 is positioned in bore 87 in tubular member'82 to bias adjusting
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knob 88 into engagement with the housing 44. The threaded
member 86 has a knob 88 located on its upper end, and when the
knob 88 is rotated it moves the housing 44 relative to arm 80
about the pivot members 72 and 74, which also effects limited
rotation of the contacts 24 and 26 mounted on the housing 44
about the pivot members 72 and 74. I'he tubular member 82, in
addition to providing a threaded connection for the member 86,
also limits the amount of possible angular movement of the
housing 44 relative to the pivot members 72 and 74. The fix-
ture 20 can be mounted and loc~ed in position fairly accurate-
ly by hand when locating the axis of rotation of the mandrel
30 and only relatively fine positional adjustment is usually
required by means of the knob 88 to establish a desired scale
reading as will be explained.
When the fixture 20 is mounted in the position des-
cribed, the contacts 24 and 26 are moved into engagement with
the alignment sleeve 31 mounted surrounding the mandrel por-
tion 28. In order to align and locate the mandrel 30, however,
the actual adjustments are made by means in the spindle nose
assembly 36 in the manner disclosed in Rutter's U.S. patent no.
4,281,482 dated August 4, 1981. The fixture 20 therefore is
necessary as a means to know when the spindle nose 36 is in
proper adjustment.
The upper surface of the housing 44 has an elongated
arcuate opening 90 (FIGURE 1) which is positioned near the
opening 42 ~or the lever 40. The opening 90 outlines a gradu-
ated scale 92 which has a zero position at its center and
equaily spaced intervals on both opposite sides thereof~ A
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movable pointer 94 has its indicator end ~isible in the opening
90 in front of the scale 92 and is mounted ~or mo~ement in
the housing as will be explained. The pointer 94 is connected
to a substalltially cylindrical member 96 (FIGURES 5-7) which is
journaled -to the housing 44 by a shaft 98. The member 96 has
a notch 100 formed in one side which engages one end 102 of
a bell crank member 104 which is journaled to the side wall
of the housing at 105 (FIGURE 6). The member 96 is biased into
engagement with the bell crank 104 by a wire spring 106 which
has one end that extends into a hole 108 in the member 96
and from there around a spring adjusting cam 110 (FIGURE 6).
and its opposite end is anchored to the housing 44 at 112.
The bell crank 104 (FIGURE 5) extends from the end
102 that is engaged with the notch 100, and is pivoted to the
housing 44 by a hole 114 which cooperates with a shaft 116
attached to the housing 44. The bell crank 104 also has a
cavity 118 in one end in which the contact 24 is positioned
and staked. ~he contact 24 is a small metal ball member
preferably made of some relatively hard wear resistant
material. The bell crank 104 has means for receiving one
end of ano-ther wire spring 120 which extends around
another spring adjusting cam 122 (FIGURE 6] and has its opposite
end anchored to the housing 44~ The spring 120 biases the
bell crank 104 into engagement with the member 96 through
another small metal ball 121 which is pressed into the beIl-
crank, and also biases the contact 24 into a normally out-
wardly extending position on the housing 44.
The housing 44 has a pair of spaced paralle7 interiox
walls 124 and 126 (FIGURE 6) which~are positioned on opposite
sides of a row of hbusing open.ings 128, 130, and 132, which
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openings can be seen most clearly in FIGU~E 1. Part of
an adjacent opening 134 on one side of the housing 44
is also in the same row. A block member 136 ~IGUXE 6~ is
slidably positioned in the space between the walls 124
and 126. The block 136 has four aligned threaded bores 138,
140, 142 and 144 therethrough, and the block 136 has a
projection 146 (FIGURE 7) extending from the top surface
thereof near one side which slidably cooperates with a
groove 147 formed in housing wall member 1~8. The
block 136 has a cutout 152 formed in one side which receives
a curved spring member 154 that makes sliding engagement
with the housing wall 126 to pre~ent looseness therebetween.
The holes 128-134 and the threaded bores 138~144 are
movable into alignment with each other in different positions of
the block member 136. Any one of the registered holes and bores
can receive a threaded member 156 (FIGURE 8) which has the
contact 26 staked into one end thereof and a knoh portion
158 on the opposite end. The member 156 extends through a
selected one of the holes 128-134 and is threadedly engageable
with a corresponding registered ~ore 138-144 r The member 156,
when used, therefore extends all the wa~ through the hbusing
44 so that the contact 26 and the spring biased contact 24,
which is in alignment therewith, are movable into engagement
with the mandrel portion 28 or the slee~e 31, at spaced
locations therealong. The selection as to which hole and
bore to install the member 156 in depends on the length of
the mandrel portion 28. The longer the portion 28, the
further apart should the contacts 24 and 26 be located. If
the mandrel portion 28 is longer than the width of the
housing 44 then the member 156 should be instàlled in the
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endmost threaded bore 14ar in the bloc~ 136, and the block
136 can additionally be slid out of the housing between the
parallel wall portions 124 and 126, being limited by engage-
ment between the projection 146 on one side of the block 136
and the end of the groove 147 in the housing closure member
148. The further apart the contacts 24 and 26 are, the more
precise will be the alignment accuracy that can be achieved.
In order to align a mandrel, such as a mandrel uti-
lized with the adjustable spindle nose disclosed in Rutter's
U.S. patent no. 4,281,482 dated Aug. 4, 1981 using the subject
fixture 20, the sleeve 31 having an inner surface diameter ec~ual
to that of the finished hole to be honed and an outer surface con-
centric with the inner surface of the sleeve is installed around
the honing portion 28 of the mandrel 30. The sleeve 31 is used in
order to establish the actual condition of the mandrel during hon-
ing. Installation is accomplished by positioning the sleeve on the
mandrel portion 28 and adjusting the stone radially outwardly
so that the mandrel shoes and stone are snugly engaged with
the inner surface of the sleeve 31. The fixture 20 is then
installed on the shaft 22, as aforesaid, and, while loose on
the shaft 22, is moved into position so that the contact 24
engages the outer surface of sleeve 310 The contact 26 is then
adjusted to also engage the outer surface of sleeve 31. In
this position the forward set of adjustment screws on the
spindle nose are adjusted to achieve angular alignment of the
axis of the mandrel so that in all positions of the mandrel
the same reading will be present on the fixture scale with
both contacts 24 and 26 engaging the outer surface of the `
sleeve 31. When this condition is achieved the angular align-
ment of the mandrel axis
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is the true alignment with the honing machine spindle. The mandrel
30 should be rotated to several different p~sitions during
alignment. The object is to adjust the spindle nose assembly
36 50 that the fixture 20 will have the same reacling, preferably
a zero reading, because a zero reading is at the center of
the scale, for all positions of rotation of the mandrel 30.
With a little practice an operator can accurately align a
mandrel so that the axis of rotation will be fixed along
the length thereof.
~fter mandrel angular alignment is achieved using
both the contacts 24 and 26, the locking lever 40 is pIaced in
the locked position, thus locking the fixture on shaft 22. The
contact 26 is then backed off so that only the contact 24
is in engagement with the outer surface of the sleeve 31.
The threaded adjustment members at the rear o the spindle
nose assembly are then adjusted to locate' the axis of
the mandreL on the axis of the honing machine spindle.
While making this adjustment the pointer 94 can be main-
tained at zero by adjusting the knob'88. In order for the
mandrel axis to be accurately located, r~tation of the
mandrel with'the sleeve 31 thereon, and with the contact 24
engaging the slee~e, should not produce any change in the
fixture reading.
Once a mandrel has been ali~ned and Iocated as
aforesaid, the sleeve 31 is removed from the mandrel.
The mandrel is now in condition for extremely accurate
honing. The subject fixture can also be used as a
means to quickly and accurately verify the alignment and
location of a mandrel to compensate for wear and to improve
the operation. While the subject fixture has been described
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:~ in conjunction with a honing mandreI it is apparent that it
. can be used for the same or similar purposes with other
rotatable mem~ers including other rotatable work engaging
. members.
Thus there has been shown and described a novel alignment
and locating ~ixture which fulfills al:L of the objects and advantages
sought therefor. It will be apparent to those skillea in the art,
however, that many changes, modifications, variations, and other uses
and applicat.i.ons of the present fixture are possible and contemplated.
All such changes, modifications, variations, and other uses and
applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of
the invention are deemed to be covered by the invention which
is limited only by the claims which follow.
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